Must pronounce "Iran" correctly

Just one viewer not liking your pronunciation can cause big trouble:

"Clippers longtime play-by-play announcer Ralph Lawler and color analyst Michael Smith were suspended one game by the Fox Sports Prime Ticket cable network for their comments about Memphis center Hamed Haddadi. Lawler and Smith made their off-the-cuff comments about the Iranian-born center during Wednesday night's telecast from Memphis. The on-air banter offended a viewer who e-mailed Fox to complain.

The transcript of the conversation between Lawler and Smith, which occurred late in the game, was printed on the Los Angeles Times' Web site:

Smith: "Look who's in."

Lawler: "Hamed Haddadi. Where's he from?"

Smith: "He's the first Iranian to play in the NBA." (Smith pronounced Iranian as "Eye-ranian," a pronunciation that offended the viewer who complained.)

Lawler: "There aren't any Iranian players in the NBA," repeating Smith's mispronunciation.

Smith: "He's the only one."

Lawler: "He's from Iran?"

Smith: "I guess so."

Lawler: "That Iran?"

Smith: "Yes."

Lawler: "The real Iran?"

Smith: "Yes."

Lawler: "Wow. Haddadi that's H-A-D-D-A-D-I."

Smith: "You're sure it's not Borat's older brother?"

Smith: "If they ever make a movie about Haddadi, I'm going to get Sacha Baron Cohen to play the part."

Lawler: "Here's Haddadi. Nice little back-door pass. I guess those Iranians can pass the ball."

Smith: "Especially the post players.

Lawler: "I don't know about their guards."

Source

ACLU gets one right

We read:

"The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida filed a federal lawsuit today against a state school district, claiming administrators illegally infringed upon their students' right to free speech.

The suit alleges that Alachua County School District officials violated the constitution by suspending high school, middle school and elementary school students for wearing tee shirts which publicized their religious beliefs at school events this year, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

The tee shirts which induced the suspensions said "Jesus answered I am the way and the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except through me'" on the front and "Islam is of the Devil" on the back.

Before filing the lawsuit, the ACLU submitted 27 slogans the students wanted to wear to the school district and asked which would be acceptable to wear to school events. The district did not offer any guidance.

Howard Simon, ACLU of Florida executive director, told the news source, "The message on the t-shirts is an unfortunate expression of religious intolerance, but the School Board's policy of banning any messages that are offensive to others or inappropriate, unfortunately draws the line in a way that unconstitutionally prohibits freedom of speech."

The ACLU has said it does not support the message printed on the tee shirts.

Source

ACLU logic-chopping is too deep for me to follow. But the courts are probably to blame too.

3rd Circus Outlaws Christmas music in NJ schools

We read:

"Singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" might be okay in Maplewood-South Orange schools. But "Silent Night" and "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" are still out.

A board of education policy that prohibits celebratory religious music in district schools was upheld today by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The three-judge panel said there was "no constitutional violation" in the policy because other constitutional principles require public schools to remain strictly secular environments.

"Those of us who were educated in the public schools remember holiday celebrations replete with Christmas carols, and possibly even Chanukah songs, to which no objections had been raised. Since then, the governing principles have been examined and defined with more particularity," Judge Dolores Korman Sloviter wrote for the court.

The judges said public school administrations can discern which songs are most appropriate according to those constitutional guidelines because schools already are charged with the responsibility of creating a secular "inclusive environment" for students every day.

Source

Must not call a youth a youth in Britain

We read:

"It is not a word usually associated with causing offence, even when those referred to have broken the law. But 'youth' has been banned from guidelines on the treatment of criminals aged 16 and 17 - because ministers think it is too demeaning. Instead, offenders must be referred to as 'young persons' in the latest code for prosecutors. The newly fashionable phrase is used 101 times in the document.

The change of wording was mocked yesterday by the Tories, who described it as the 'bizarre' invention of a new taboo. Shadow Justice Secretary Dominic Grieve added: 'Yet again, ministers have shown that they are more bothered about pandering to political correctness than coming down hard on the crime and antisocial behaviour that blights communities.'

Disapproval of language considered to give the wrong impression has been a hallmark of Labour's years in power. Its Youth Justice Board has tried to prevent 'gang' in case it criminalises youngsters who gather together. It prefers crime committed by such gatherings to be described as 'group-related'.

Source

I guess that Brits too now mostly realize that "youth" mostly means "black" when used in crime descriptions. Changing the labels will not change the reality of pervasive black crime, however. And word will always get around about that. Despite widespead media coverups, how many Americans don't know that blacks are on average much more dangerous than whites? Even Jesse Jackson knows that.

I wonder when pictures of offenders will be banned? African features looking at you from so many crime reports do add up to a pretty clear story eventually.

Canada: Welcome to Caledonia, where flying the national flag is officially forbidden

But native flags are fine, of course:

"A Caledonia family - Dave Brown, Dana Chatwell and their teenage son Dax - are suing the Ontario government and the OPP for a total of $7-million for effectively abandoning them to the lawlessness surrounding a native occupation of a former development site called Douglas Creek Estates. The family's home is bordered on two sides by the site, part of a simmering Six Nations land claim.

The world of Mr. Brown and Ms. Chatwell, and to a lesser degree that of other Caledonia residents whose homes were also close to the site, was Kafkaesque, a bewildering place where black was white, right was wrong, up was down.

One night, when he asked that the OPP station a car near his house, he implored the dispatcher, "Just don't ignore my calls okay? It's unsafe here, if you ask me. They're shining spotlights all over, all around the perimeter." Police notes duly stated that "Occupiers are in multiple vehicles, shining lights everywhere."

As Christmas of 2006 approached, with Mohawk Warrior flags all over the DCE and on Mr. Brown's street, Caledonia residents had had enough, and decided they would carry or hang a Canadian flag. Mr. Brown decided to fly one in his front yard.

"The Canadian flag was not allowed to be flown," he said. "I'm a very, very proud Canadian. I'm proud of my country. This was my opportunity and my right to believe we still live in this country. "The OPP was not concerned with the Mohawk flags all around my property and on all the telephone poles. They were agitating me.

Mr. Brown's flag was stolen a few days later, and, he told the lawyer, he stood with his uncle, three police cruisers in his driveway, as the "OPP let them [the natives] stand there with my Canadian flag."

Source

Eskimos and red Indians are near-sacred in politically correct Canada. They have in practice FAR more rights than anyone else.

WA: "I’m completely supportive of freedom of expression" -- except when I'm not

A confused young lady writes to her college newspaper:

"I found myself very troubled after walking to the campus bookstore on Monday morning. Outside the doors to the most popular building on campus was a table with two men behind it, calling themselves “de LaRouche.” As I approached the table I saw a poster of Obama with a Hitler mustache on it, and as I walked by one of the men asked me how I liked the poster. I heard them talking about how Obama is going to hell, trying to recruit other students into their clan.

I stood there disgusted and confused as to how these people could actually believe Obama is comparable to Hitler, and how he has imposed a mass genocide on the country as they propose he has. I, along with countless other students, am enraged by this group and the images they are displaying as we make our way to class.

The open visitor policy on campus is not effective when a group presents hateful ideas in an intimidating way to young students. I’m completely supportive of freedom of expression, but the line needs to be drawn between free speech and hate speech. [The lady seems easily intimidated. For her sake, let's hope she never experiences REAL intimidation]

Source

Italian prosecutors seek jail for Google executives over bullying video

We read:

"GOOGLE executives could be jailed over a video showing a teen with Down's Syndrome being bullied. Italian prosecutors have accused four current and former Google executives of defamation and failure to exercise control over personal data.

Google strongly denounced the case, calling it "a direct attack on a free, open internet."

The case, being heard in a Milan court, stems from a complaint by an Italian advocacy group for people with Down's Syndrome, Vivi Down, and the boy's father. The video shows four male high school students in the Italian city of Turin humiliating the youth. It was filmed from a mobile phone and posted on the site in September 2006, where it remained for two months.

The prosecutors said the need to safeguard fundamental rights took priority over business and that it was not an issue about freedom but responsibility of companies, the sources said. They are seeking jail sentences ranging from six months to a year. The maximum sentence for such charges - complicity in defamation and harm to private life - is three years in prison.

A Google spokesman said the company would defend and support its employees and that Google did what was required under European and Italian law. "This prosecution is akin to prosecuting mail service employees for hate speech letters sent in the post," Google's spokesman said. "Seeking to hold neutral platforms liable for content posted on them is a direct attack on a free, open internet and could spell the end of Web 2.0 in Italy," he said.

Source

Italy does have some oppressive internet laws

Pathetic British Conservative Party leader

We read:

"Two years ago he derided politically-correct Christmas cards which do not mention the word Christmas as 'insulting tosh'. But last night David Cameron was facing a backlash from his own party after it emerged the Conservative official cards have the message 'Season's Greetings'.

The Christmas cards, which are available on the party's website, avoid all religious imagery - preferring generic winter scenes and pictures of robins to pictures of Jesus and the Three Kings. And the word Christmas does not appear on them at all.

Yesterday, Tory back-benchers were furious with indications that their party is becoming so politically correct. Philip Davies, MP for Shipley, said: 'If this decision has been made on a PC basis it would be totally unacceptable and I would be extremely saddened. 'This kind of pandering to extreme elements of the PC brigade is not something I would envisage from the Conservative Party. I have yet to meet anyone of any religion who is offended by people in this country celebrating Christmas.

Source

Google resists censorship pressure sometimes

We read:

"GOOGLE is running advertisements to explain the appearance of racist and anti-Semitic material in search results, including a picture which depicts US First Lady Michelle Obama as a monkey.

"Sometimes Google search results from the internet can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries," the US search giant said in an ad signed The Google Team. "We assure you that the views expressed by such sites are not in any way endorsed by Google," the company said.

The Google ad appears on a page of image search results for Michelle Obama which includes the offensive depiction of the wife of President Barack Obama.

"Search engines are a reflection of the content and information that is available on the internet," Google said. "The beliefs and preferences of those who work at Google, as well as the opinions of the general public, do not determine or impact our search results."

Google said it will remove pages from search results if they violate the company's guidelines but it "views the integrity of our search results as an extremely important priority". "Accordingly, we do not remove a page from our search results simply because its content is unpopular or because we receive complaints concerning it," Google said.

Source

I'm glad they stick to principle sometimes, even if they feel the need to apologize for it. Will they also apologize for including abuse of Christians in their searches?

"Best Buy" wouldn't say "Merry Christmas", but have wished Muslims "Happy Eid Al-Adha"



We read:

"Best Buy stands by its decision to wish U.S. Muslims a Happy Eid Al-Adha, a rep for the company said, and though some Best Buy customers took offense, a Muslim advocacy group praised the move.

The retailer got some flak this week for including, along with its circular advertising Thanksgiving Day sales, a note saying "Happy Eid Al-Adha," which refers to a holiday of sacrifice for followers of Islam on Nov. 27 this year.

After TechCrunch ran an item about the circular, some claimed offense and said they'd take their business elsewhere. "I spent about $3,000 with . . . your store. I will be shopping somewhere else," one consumer wrote on Best Buy's Web forum. "BB has the Muslims covered with the 'Happy Eid,' but what about the rest of us Americans?" wrote another. "Do we get a 'Happy Thanksgiving'?"

Source

I guess they want only Muslim customers. Christians should take the hint and stay away. BB do seem to be worried about that. They now say they are going to recognize Christmas this year.

When you are the Prime Minister of Russia you have a LOT of freedom of speech



We read:

"Vladimir Putin has undiplomatically poked fun at the Georgian leader, Mikheil Saakashvili, saying that it may not be safe to wear a tie around him. Asked at a news conference in Yalta about Saakashvili's visit to Kiev last week, the Russian leader, who is known for his sharp tongue, said that the Georgian leader and Ukraine's fiercely pro-Western president, Vikor Yuschenko, should meet wearing open-necked shirts.

"The two presidents would be better off holding a dinner - if they are to hold it - without ties. Ties are pricey these days....Well, you understand what I mean," he said, eliciting laughter from officials and journalists. "Yuschenko's guest will scarf up his tie."

Putin was alluding to widely circulated video footage of Saakashvili with the tip of his tie ino his mouth, chewing on it as he waited to be interviewed last year. In 2008, Russia and Georgia went to war over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Putin, who was in Yalta for talks with the Ukranian prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, said that Yuschenko and Saakashvili would have much to talk about. "The fighters reminisced about past days and battles that they have lost together," he mused.

Source

There is something I rather like about Putin. Being plainspoken may be part of it and he has certainly got a very skeptical eye. He is a very traditional Russian in many ways and frequently attends church. And unlike Obama, he never hesitates to stand up for his country. Russia has got a LOT to apologize for but it is Obama who does the apologizing, not Putin.

The picture above is of Putin and the Ukrainian prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko. Even at age 49, Yulia is quite a dish. Do an image search on her and you will see what I mean. She's rich too.

GA: Lawmakers to review “so help me God” police oath

We read:

"City council members in Marietta, Ga., will consider changing the oath of office that the city’s police officers take so that recruits can swear to uphold the law without saying the phrase ’so help me God.’ But a police spokeswoman says that to her knowledge, nobody has ever objected to saying those words, and the city’s mayor promises he’ll veto any change to the oath that removes them.

Det. Gwen Lewis, a police spokeswoman, said no complaints have been received recently regarding the five-sentence oath the Marietta Police Department last adopted in August 2001. To her knowledge, she said, no would-be officer has ever objected to saying ’so help me God’ as part of the oath.” (11/23/09)

Source

Nubian fury at 'monkey' lyric of Arab pop star Haifa Wehbe



Once again we hear that Arabs don't think much of blacks:

"One of the Arab world's biggest pop stars has provoked a torrent of outrage after releasing a song which refers to black Egyptians as monkeys.

Haifa Wehbe, an award-winning Lebanese diva who has been voted one of the world's most beautiful people, is now facing a lawsuit from Egyptian Nubians claiming the song has fuelled discrimination against them and made some Nubian children too afraid to attend school.

The row has cast fresh light on the position within Egyptian society of Nubians, who are descended from one of Africa's most ancient black civilisations and yet often face marginalisation in modern Egypt.

The latest accusations of racism came after the release of her new song, Where is Daddy?, in which a child sings to Wehbe, "Where is my teddy bear and the Nubian monkey?".

Wehbe has since apologised profusely for the offending lyrics, insisting they were penned by an Egyptian songwriter who told her that "Nubian monkey" was an innocent term for a popular children's game. That hasn't stopped a group of Nubian lawyers submitting an official complaint to Egypt's public prosecutor and calling for the song to be banned.

Source

9th Circus does something useful

We read:

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled Friday that a federal district court should have considered whether a Gilbert, Ariz., sign ordinance unconstitutionally discriminates against religious signs among all non-commercial signs. The court sent the case, filed by attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund who represent Good News Community Church, back to district court for a decision.

“Churches shouldn’t be discriminated against by a city’s sign ordinances,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman, who argued the case before the 9th Circuit on April 15. “The government cannot require churches to abide by stricter rules than it places on other non-commercial signs. The Constitution prohibits government officials from singling out religious groups for that kind of discrimination.”

In its opinion in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, the 9th Circuit wrote that “Gilbert has adopted a sign ordinance that makes one’s head spin to figure out the bounds of its restrictions and exemptions.”

Source

Another British foot-shooter

We read:

"Ben Elton has been forced to apologise for his royal rant on Good News Week which enraged Brits this week. The comedian and writer's opinions on the monarchy, British sporting prowess and more have disgusted the British and led to several newspapers - including the Daily Mail, The Telegraph and The Sun - running outraged stories about his comments on the comedy show.

Displaying his vitriolic wit and sarcasm on the comedy show, Elton made a series of comments regarding the UK, calling the Queen "a sad little old lady", Prince Philip a "mad old bigot", joking about sex with Margaret Thatcher and saying Prince Charles was just a "disillusioned ex-hippy".

He said London had scored the 2012 Olympics in order to give Britons some chance at sporting success and because the rest of the world felt sorry for the British when it came to athletic prowess, and launched a royal rant against the Queen calling her "a sad little old lady who lives in state sponsored accommodation". On sex with Thatcher he said: "She sort of annoyed me because she would always want to smoke afterwards and I hated that because that was so dirty".

Source

He obviously does not want most Brits to watch his shows or buy his books -- because many won't after this.

Post a vulgar comment while you’re at work, lose your job

We read:

"A single vulgar word cost a man his job on Friday. It all started with Friday’s edition of Talk of the Day, a regular blog on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s website, STLtoday.com. Talk of the Day is exactly that. A conversation around the water-cooler topic of the day. Friday’s edition is often a little lighter. Last week, it was about the strangest things you’ve ever eaten, loosely pegged on a story about deer meat.

By mid-morning, a number of folks had commented about their experiences with Bird’s Nest Soup, octopus, cow brains and rattlesnake. Then, while I was in our 10 a.m. news meeting, someone posted in reply a single word, a vulgar expression for a part of a woman’s anatomy. It was there only a minute before a colleague deleted it.

A few minutes later, the same guy posted the same single-word comment again. I deleted it, but noticed in the WordPress e-mail alert that his comment had come from an IP address at a local school. So I called the school. They were happy to have me forward the e-mail, though I wasn’t sure what they’d be able to do with the meager information it included.

About six hours later, I heard from the school’s headmaster. The school’s IT director took a shine to the challenge. Long story short: Using the time-frame of the comments, our website location and the IP addresses in the WordPress e-mail, he tracked it back to a specific computer. The headmaster confronted the employee, who resigned on the spot.

Source

Must not express a preference for Anglo names

Even in the British Conservative party

"A former Tory Parliamentary candidate was suspended by the party last night after complaining that people bidding to become an MP did not have ‘normal’ English names. Councillor Peter Hobbins is accused of sending racist emails to colleagues attacking the list of prospective Parliamentary candidates for the Orpington seat in Kent.

Mr Hobbins, who stood unsuccessfully for the Tories at the 2001 election and was shortlisted for the London mayoral race, suggested he should change his name to ‘Petrado’ to succeed in the party. One email said: ‘I have been contacted by a Mr Dilon Gumraj and a Zerha Zaidi and others who are all on the approved Conservative Parliamentary Candidates list. ‘Not one of them has a ‘normal’ English name.

‘Why are the Candidates Department so keen on these foreign names?!!!! Maybe I should change my name to something foreign – how does Petrado Indiano Hobbinso sound to you?!’

Mr Hobbins also said he was fed up with reading about ‘Africa’ on the CVs of would-be candidates.

A Tory spokesman said: ‘Councillor Hobbins has been immediately suspended from the Conservative Party and from the Conservative Group on Bromley council and he will play no part in the selection of the Parliamentary candidate. There is no room for racism in the Conservative Party.’

Source

The man was actually making a serious point. It is arguably true that Anglo voters are more likely to vote for candidates with Anglo names. Any political party in England that puts up a candidate with an obviously foreign name may well be doing a bit of foot-shooting.

Even Hispanics and Filipinos aren't supposed to use the word "negro"?

We read:

"A civil rights group has chided Dionisia Pacquiao, mother of famed Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, for using the word "Negro" in a public statement. The Color People Advancement Community (CPAC), a small Las Vegas-based ethnic rights group, was reacting to statements made by Mrs. Pacquiao after her son's match against Puerto Rican boxer Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand Arena on November 14.

Pacquiao, along with his entourage, had proceeded to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino a few blocks away for a post-fight party and mini-concert. There, Mrs. Pacquiao gave interviews and described her alarm at watching her son fight it out with Cotto for 12 rounds.

Mrs. Pacquiao also thanked all her son's supporters. "Nagpapasalamat ako hindi lang sa mga Pilipino. At pati na rin sa mga Amerikano at mga Negro. (I thank not only the Filipinos, I also thank Americans and Negroes)," she said.

According to reports from the Bandera tabloid and boxing website Philboxing.com, the CPAC in Las Vegas issued a statement asking Mrs. Pacquiao to refrain from using politically incorrect words in public "so as not to inflame emotional outrage" from groups in the United States.

Source

"Negro" was once the proper scientific term for the race concerned but these days the more ponderous geographical term "Sub-Saharan African" is used in scientific writing. That's a bit stupid, though, as there are about 4 million "Sub-Saharan Africans" who are white, mostly in South Africa.

Tribe battles to keep logo for the Fighting Sioux

We read:

"The most prominent defenders of the University of North Dakota's right to call its teams the Fighting Sioux are neither alumni nor hockey fans. They're Sioux.

A group of Spirit Lake Sioux won a temporary restraining order last week to stop the North Dakota University System from retiring the nickname and logo, one of the last in the country associated with an American Indian tribe. A hearing for a preliminary injunction is slated for Dec. 9 in Ramsey County District Court in Devils Lake, N.D.

Most such university team names have been abandoned in the face of criticism that they were offensive or derogatory, but that view isn't the only one in Indian country. Some tribal members take pride in their association with the Fighting Sioux and worry that eliminating the moniker "will cause isolation and a diminishing of public interest, knowledge and respect for Sioux history," according to the complaint. "There are more members of the Sioux tribe that support this than oppose it," said Frank Blackcloud, a Spirit Lake Sioux and member of the tribe's Committee for Understanding and Respect, which brought the complaint.

The committee's decision to weigh in on the Fighting Sioux nickname is the latest - and most ironic - twist in a decades-old debate over the university's nickname and logo. While Spirit Lake Sioux members are fighting to save the name, they're meeting resistance from largely nonnative groups like the faculty Senate, the College Anti-Racism Team and even the state Board of Higher Education.

Source

This is one indication that the assault on Indian team names comes primarily from Leftists rather than Indians.

TN: ACLU attacks Christian practices in schools

"Prohibiting the free exercise" of religion?

"A lawsuit has been filed against the Cheatham County School Board alleging that school officials have promoted their own religious beliefs and allowed and encouraged public prayers at school events.

Civil rights attorney George Barrett and the Tennessee chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit in federal court today on behalf of four students, listed under aliases. Two were students who graduated last year from Sycamore High School, one is a current student at Sycamore High School and another attends Cheatham Middle School.

The suit seeks an injunction against the schools to prevent them from continuing the activities mentioned in the suit, and nominal damages for the two students who have graduated.”

Among the allegations are that a planned prayer took place at graduation; that the Gideons International were allowed to speak to classes and distribute Bibles; that a cross hangs in a classroom; and that a history teacher taught that the United States is a “Christian nation” and decried the separation of church and state....

Attorney Allen Woods of Woods & Woods, which represents the school board, said they hadn’t yet examined all the allegations contained in the lawsuit but that there is no policy of religious behavior being tolerated or persecuted.

“We believe that all of Cheatham County’s policies are in accordance with the recommendations of the Tennessee School Board Association, and the court will find it legal and valid,” said. “The schools in question and all Cheatham County schools neither endorse any specific religion nor interfere with the religion of its students. That’s what the Constitution requires.”

Source

Terms "Mental Retardation" and "Mentally Disabled" now wrong

We read:

"U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski today introduced Rosa’s Law, a bill that will eliminate the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” from the federal law books. U.S. Senator Michael B. Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, is the Republican sponsor of the bill.

Under Rosa’s Law, those terms would be replaced with “intellectual disability” and “individual with an intellectual disability” in federal education, health and labor law. The bill does not expand or diminish services, rights or educational opportunities. It simply makes the federal law language consistent with that used by the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and the President of the United States, through his Committee on Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities.

Rosa’s Law replicates a law recently adopted in Maryland. Senator Mikulski first heard about the state law from Rosa’s mother during a roundtable discussion about special education held in Edgewater, Maryland. Due to requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), each student who receives special education services at public schools has an individualized education program (IEP) that describes the student’s disability and the special education and services that child will receive. Rosa has an intellectual disability – Downs Syndrome – and so was designated as a student with “mental retardation” in her IEP, giving way to people at the school referring to Rosa as retarded. Senator Mikulski promised Rosa’s mother that if the bill became law in Maryland, she would take it to the floor of the United States Senate.

Source

Leftists have a long history of belief in verbal magic. They believe that by changing the name for a thing you somehow alter the underlying reality and people's attitude towards it.

SCOTUS: Redskins can keep team name

We read:

"A group of native Americans have lost their bid to force the Washington Redskins pro football team to change its name because they consider it to be a racial slur. On Monday, the US Supreme Court, in a one-line ruling, refused to take up the case.

The action lets stand a decision by a federal appeals court in Washington that the native Americans had waited too long to bring their challenge to the Redskins trademark, and thus forfeited any right to sue.”

Source

Democrat wants to silence Christians

We read:

"Still lamenting the overwhelming defeat that she and her pro-abortion cohorts suffered in the House when the Stupak-Pitts amendment was attached to the health care bill, Rep. DeGette is now calling for religiously-affiliated groups to be shut out of the public policy process as the bill goes to the Senate.

“Last I heard, we had separation of church and state in this country,” she said. “I’ve got to say that I think the Catholic bishops and all of the other groups shouldn’t have input.”

In other words if a group of people who are in association with one another because of their Christian faith, they should not have a collective voice in the crafting of public policy. What she is asserting is that if your ideas and actions are a product of your faith, you’re a second class citizen and your voice should not be heard.

This is a far cry from what the Founders believed. Several months after the British surrender at Yorktown, George Washington, in a letter to the Reformed German Congregation of New York, wrote, “The establishment of civil and religious liberty was the motive which induced me to the field (of combat).” Sadly, Diana DeGette seems eager to smother these precious freedoms, neither of which can exist without the other.

Source

Climate censorship

EPA Employees Silenced for Criticizing Cap and Trade

"Laurie Williams and husband Alan Zabel worked as lawyers for the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, in its San Francisco office for more than 20 years, and they know more about climate change than most politicians. But when the couple released a video on the Internet expressing their concerns over the Obama administration’s plans to use cap-and-trade legislation to fight climate change, they were told to keep it to themselves.

Williams and Zabel oppose cap and trade -- a controversial government allowance program in which companies are issued emissions limits, or caps, which they can then trade -- as a means to fight climate change. On their own time, Williams and Zabel made a video expressing these opinions.

"Cap-and-trade with offsets provides a false sense of progress and puts money in the pockets of investors," Zabel said in the video. "We think that these restrictions might not be constitutional," he said.

Their bosses in San Francisco approved the effort by Williams and Zabel to release the tape, but after an editorial they wrote appeared in the Washington Post, EPA Director Lisa Jackson ordered the pair to remove the video or face disciplinary action. Specifically, the administration's chief environmental official did not want Williams or Zabel mentioning their four decades with the EPA -- time spent studying cap and trade. "The people who understand the problems with the cap and trade with offsets bill are not being heard," Williams told Fox News.

Critics argue the action contradicts the president's support for open government. "It's censorship," Jeff Ruch, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, told Fox News. "If the Obama administration believes in transparency it is precisely in these cases they need to prove it."

Source

Court turns down student over religious speech

What part of "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion do the judges not understand?

"The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a student who complained that high school officials violated her constitutional rights when they turned off her microphone during her religion-tinged graduation speech.

The justices said Monday they will not revive a lawsuit filed by Brittany McComb of Henderson, Nev. challenging the actions of Clark County school officials. A federal appeals court ruled previously ruled against her.

During McComb's speech at the Foothill High School graduation in 2006, officials turned off McComb's microphone when the school valedictorian strayed from an approved text to provide a graphic account of Jesus' crucifixion and credit God for her success in school.

Source

Moans in Australia about 'Hatebook'

We read:

"Social networking site Facebook has come under pressure to better regulate its content as racist and offensive groups continue to proliferate on the site.

Facebook has a ban on "content that is hateful [and] threatening" and a spokeswoman for the site told brisbanetimes.com.au that there was no place for racism “or any form of hate speech” on Facebook. “We will remove anything of this nature that is reported to us,” she said. “Facebook is highly self-regulating, and users can and do report content that they find questionable or offensive.”

But despite Facebook’s self-regulation, many offensive groups remain on the network. Some vilify Indigenous Australians and Muslims, others suggest glassing people is acceptable, and some deny the Holocaust. One anti-Islamic group alone has over 6000 members and many groups remain on Facebook long enough for opposition groups to be created in response.

Race Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes told brisbanetimes.com.au that cyber-racism was an issue that needed to be addressed. “I don’t think we’re a racist country, but Australia does have pockets of racism, and all of us need to challenge these pockets,” he said.

Representatives from Islamic and Jewish peak representative organisations have also called for tighter regulation of online content....

But Electronic Frontiers Australia spokesman Geordie Guy said groups should have the right to express their views, no matter how abhorrent or controversial they might be. “The ability to say what you want is a critical and important part of democracy and freedom,” he said. Mr Guy said that the open discussion of illegal activities, like abortion and euthanasia was “critical for a healthy democracy”. “The way that we change things is by talking about them. If we’re not allowed to talk about illegal things, how are we going to change anything?" he said.

Previous decisions by the Federal Court of Australia have required Australian sources to remove Holocaust-denying material from the internet.

Source

British Labour Party candidate who described the Queen as 'vermin' and a 'parasite who milks the country' is forced to apologise

We read:

"A Labour candidate has been forced to apologise after describing the Queen as 'vermin' and a 'parasite'. Peter White, who is standing in next year's local elections, posted the republican diatribe on the social networking site Facebook.

Last night Mr White was forced to issue a humiliating apology by Labour high command, and was threatened with deselection as election candidate.

The comments met with a furious reaction from other visitors to the web page, and Mr White later deleted his comments. But they had already been saved by Mr Rosindell.

Mr Rosindell said: 'People are absolutely furious that someone in such a position would publicly describe the Queen as vermin and a parasite. It is outrageous: a disgusting thing to say about the head of state. 'If he is republican, he has the right to state his case. But the use such foul and nasty language against the Queen is simply offensive. Even most republicans respect the fact that she has been an excellent head of state.'

Source

He has every right to say what he thinks but this was just plain dumb. The Queen is very highly regarded in Britain. He is just handing the election to his political opponents with comments like that. All British political parties support the Monarchy, even the Scottish Nationalists.

Threatening words or protected speech?

We read:

"When Walter Carl Abbott Jr. posted comments last year on a Maryland government Web site saying he would "strangle" Gov. Martin O'Malley, he learned there's a difference.

The 45-year-old Pikesville construction worker was found guilty of threatening a public official. He is serving two years' probation for his rant against the governor, whom Mr. Abbott blames for personal financial problems that stem from business competition from illegal immigrants.

Mr. Abbott's attorney, Arthur M. Frank, said the comment wasn't a threat but a constitutionally protected criticism of state government. But he said he never got to make that argument at trial, so he took the case to a higher court.

After a hearing earlier this month before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, Mr. Abbott is awaiting a ruling on whether a Baltimore County judge should have instructed a 12-member jury to consider whether he was exercising his First Amendment rights.

Mr. Abbott maintains his innocence. He says he just has strong opinions.

Source

Must be allowed to speak Spanish?

Which amendment is that, I wonder?

"Members of several civil rights groups are protesting in front of a Taos hotel where Hispanic employees have clashed with the new owner. Whitten Inn owner Larry Whitten forbade employees to speak Spanish and ordered some to Anglicize their Hispanic names when he started making changes at the hotel in July. Taos officials and organizers say the number of protesters on Saturday ranged from 60 to 75.”

Source

It seems to me that a private employer is entitled to run his business in any legal way he wants. If people don't like his conditions of employment, they don't have to work for him.

German secrecy busted by Wikipedia

We read:

"Two German men who murdered an actor in 1990 are suing Wikipedia, claiming its description of their crimes impinges on their privacy. The case pits the United States's first amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, against German privacy and criminal laws, which dictate that after a certain period a crime is spent and cannot be referred to. Britain has similar rules on the reporting of lesser crimes.

The two men were sentenced to life in 1993. They were released in 2007 and 2008. But their lawyer, Alexander Stopp, said German courts allowed a criminal's name to be withheld in news reports once a set period had expired. "They should be able … lead a life without being publicly stigmatised" for their crime, he told The New York Times. "A criminal has a right to privacy, too, and a right to be left alone." [Why? A Leftist opinion, I think]

The German editors of Wikipedia have removed the killers' names from the German-language version about the victim, Walter Sedlmayr. But Mr Stopp has also filed a suit in Germany demanding that the Wikimedia Foundation remove their names from the English-language article.

This has triggered intense online debate. Jennifer Granick, a lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an online civil liberties group, said US law "takes it as an article of faith that people must be allowed to publish truthful information about historical events". "A foreign power should not be able to censor publications in the United States, regardless of whether doing so suits the country's domestic law."

The English-language Wikipedia article about Mr Sedlmayr notes that details of the killers' names are available from online sources in Germany.

Floyd Abrams, a prominent first amendment lawyer, said every judge on the US Supreme Court would agree that the Wikipedia article "is easily, comfortably protected by the first amendment". But Germany had come up with a different balance between the right to privacy and the public's right to know, Mr Abrams said, and "once you're in the business of suppressing speech, the quest for more speech to suppress is endless".

Source

Preacher Provokes Students at Humboldt State University (CA)

Students not used to hearing what the Bible says (Leviticus 20:13; Romans chapter 1):

"In a frenzy of buttons, handmade signs, and typed fliers, students hastily distributed material less than two hours after the arrival of Matt Bourgault and his controversial message.

The Quad, normally a place for music and bake sales, became the epicenter for Bourgault and his words this past Monday and Tuesday. Ashton Powers came to tears after repeatedly hearing that she must repent or risk eternal damnation. “You are here using God as an excuse to hate,” Powers, a freshman music major, told the preacher.

Bourgault, better known as Brother Matt, held a large sign that read, “God Abhors Homosexuality. Repent or Perish Sodomites” on the front, and “God is angry with the wicked everyday,” on the back.

Bourgault, A full-time, self-proclaimed “campus avenger,” has spent the last 10 years spreading his message from one college campus to the next. He tells students to accept his lord, or be lost eternally to Hell. “I’m trying to pull others out and bring them to the cross of Christ,” he told The Lumberjack. “Leave sin and live a life under God.”

Nearly 50 students quickly rallied against Bourgault as he preached from a rock, his King James Bible in hand on Monday. For hours, Bourgault read various scriptures from his Bible as proof of his beliefs.

Source

There were lots of moves to shut him up but he has won court cases in the past when that was tried so the police and other authorities weren't game to stop him. He seems to be a free speech warrior as much as anything else -- educating college administrations about their free speech obligations.

Most people have feelings of instinctive revulsion towards homosexuality so such people may well be glad to hear that the Bible supports that view

A SCOTUS judge attacking freedom of the press??

Only an "edited" version of what he said was allowed

"The school newspaper at Dalton, a private school in Manhattan, contained a cryptic note from its editors last Friday. "“We are not able to cover the recent visit by a Supreme Court justice due to numerous publication constraints,” the note said. It promised “an explanation of the regrettable delay” in the next issue.

It turns out that Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, widely regarded as one of the court’s most vigilant defenders of First Amendment values, had provided the newspaper, The Daltonian, with a lesson about journalistic independence. Justice Kennedy’s office had insisted on approving any article about a talk he gave to an assembly of Dalton high school students on Oct. 28.

Kathleen Arberg, the court’s public information officer, said Justice Kennedy’s office had made the request to make sure the quotations attributed to him were accurate. The justice’s office received a draft of the proposed article on Monday and returned it to the newspaper the same day with “a couple of minor tweaks,” Ms. Arberg said. Quotations were “tidied up” to better reflect the meaning the justice had intended to convey, she said....

The article itself, by Kristian Bailey, a Dalton senior and one of the paper’s editors in chief, is a straightforward account of Justice Kennedy’s biography and his wide-ranging remarks. The article is expected to be published in the paper’s next issue.

Source

That a SCOTUS judge doesn't "get it" is no surprise, I suppose. His verdicts are pretty erratic.

Homosexuals are free to express their views but Christians are not

We read:

"A manager at a Massachusetts retail store claims he was unjustly fired after he told a colleague he thought her impending marriage to another woman was wrong. Peter Vidala, 24, told FoxNews.com he was terminated in August from his position as second deputy manager at a Brookstone store at Boston's Logan Airport after a conversation he had with a manager from another Brookstone store who was visiting the location.

Vidala claims the woman, whom he declined to identify, mentioned four times that she had married her partner. He said he then left the store briefly to visit the airport's chapel before returning. "I found it offensive that she repeatedly brought it up," Vidala said. "By the fourth time she mentioned it, I felt God wanted me to express how I felt about the matter, so I did. But my tone was downright apologetic. I said, 'Regarding your homosexuality, I think that's bad stuff.'"

The woman, according to Vidala, then said, "Human resources, buddy — keep your opinions to yourself," before exiting the store. Two days later, Vidala, who had been employed for just a matter of weeks, received a termination letter citing the company's zero-tolerance policy regarding "harassment" and "inappropriate and unprofessional" comments...

Vidala said he felt "intentionally goaded" by the manager to comment on her relationship. "She knew how I felt about homosexuality," he said. "When you talk to someone about something like that, you want their support. She was kind of looking into my eyes for that social cue for me to say, 'I'm happy for you.' But I really couldn't feel happy for her.

Source

So, the Lesbian was OK to harrass the Christian, knowing how he felt - but the moment he voices his opinion he's fired. The store says "While you are entitled to your own beliefs, imposing them upon others in the workplace is not acceptable". What about the Lesbian who actually did harrass the Christian and try to force her beliefs on him?

(Via Contemporary Fundamentalist)

British police banned from saying 'gang rape' as it is 'too emotive'

We read:

"Politically correct Scotland Yard chiefs have stopped using the term 'gang rape' because it is too 'emotive', the Mail can reveal. Instead officers have been advised to use the long-winded phrase 'multi-perpetrator rape' when describing sex attacks involving three or more culprits.

Critics branded the move by the Metropolitan Police an 'affront' to the victims of appalling sex crimes and are preparing to launch a campaign on the issue.

Six years ago the Met was at the centre of a similar row over its choice of language to describe 'gang rapes' after a senior officer referred to them as 'group rapes' during an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Some community activists had previously suggested the phrase 'gang rape' had racist connotations.

Details of the latest police terminology are contained in an official Scotland Yard report which reveals a sharp increase in the number of gang rapes in the capital.

Source

The Hate Speech of Tucker Max

By two dimwits who take satire seriously. How did such dimwits get into Johns Hopkins?

"We are two of over 350 students who are strongly opposed to Tucker Max's appearance on our campus this Wednesday night. This event is a slap in the face to the women on campus, the sexual abuse survivors, the sexual and racial minorities he denigrates with unprintable slurs, the physically disabled, and anyone who does not fit into a white, Western-European, narrow-minded standard of beauty. We are appalled and disgusted that the HOP deems it acceptable to use our tuition dollars to bring a man to campus who routinely and blithely refers to women as "cum dumpsters" and "hos" and believes that "[y]our gender is hard-wired for whoredom," especially in light of the fervent and widespread opposition from students, faculty, and some members of the administration.

Max's misogyny veers into hate speech and endorsement of male entitlement, implied consent and rape. Welcoming him onto our campus gives his words a veneer of legitimacy and acceptability that they do not deserve. This HOP-sanctioned event gives the young men of this campus the wrong impression that Max's attitude and actions should be both glorified and mimicked. In the course of our protest, we were called - to our faces - "c---s," "fat bitches" and "whores," by male students - ostensibly our intellectual equals - who, taking a cue from Max, view misogyny and hate speech as a viable response to peaceful dissent. By bringing Max to campus, the HOP irresponsibly reinforces hateful, entitled attitudes, codifying them into the public discourse. Cheering on these attitudes further dehumanizes women and paves the way towards eventual acts of (sexual) violence, which happen - often - on our campus.

Source

Tucker Max is a humorist who uses the familiar technique of comedic exaggeration. Nobody expects a sense of humor from feminists, though.

More dimwits in Oregon



We read:

"A swastika along Highway 36 flown on private property in Junction City is just one example of hate speech in Lane County, according to County Commissioner Pete Sorenson. He says flags like this are legal on private property, but he still doesn't want to see them. "This kind of hate speech is just not welcome in our community," he says.

In light of this recent swastika flag, county commissioners met late last month and voted on the "Proclamation Against Hate Speech." Basically, commissioners are using their free speech to condemn this type of speech. They can condemn it but not change it. "As most people know, the swastika is a symbol of hatred," says Sorenson. "We feel while we cannot regulate that kind of speech under the federal and Oregon constitution, we feel we certainly can condemn it. And that's exactly what we did."

Source

It's difficult to know who is the dimmest here. The flag illustrated is NOT a symbol of hate. It is an Indian good luck symbol. You see them all over the place in India. In the Indian "swastik", the arms normally point to the left. In the Nazi Hakenkreuz, they point to the right. The Nazis did NOT refer to their symbol as a "swastika". It was the English who created that confusion. The German term translates as "Hooked Cross".

But the learned commissioner was not the only dummy. The guy who put the flag up apparently was comparing Obama to Hitler -- which is legitimate political speech, though something of an exaggeration. After all, Bush=Hitler was repeated ad nauseam from 2000 to 2008.

Must not mention Muslims on 9/11 memorial

We read:

"Jamie Gadiel was 23 years old when he died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York. The handsome young man with the brownish hair worked on the 23rd floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Jamie loved his job as an assistant trader for Cantor Fitzgerald as much as he loved the New York Mets. Every single day, Peter Gadiel misses his wonderful son, the boy who grew up in the Litchfield County enclave of Kent. Gadiel resents the lost holidays, the wedding that will never be, the grandchildren who will never run up and hug his leg.

This fall, Gadiel and the Kent Board of Selectmen have been at odds over the best way to pay tribute to Jamie, a true favorite son. Both sides believe a memorial at Town Hall is appropriate. It's the wording that is keeping this wound raw. Gadiel wants six lines inscribed on a plaque that will be set in a stone on the Town Hall's front lawn:

James Gadiel

Born February 3, 1978

A gentleman and a gentle man

A lifelong resident of Kent

Murdered by Muslim extremists

September 11, 2001

It is the fifth line -- "murdered by Muslim extremists" -- that has struck a nerve in this quaint New England town and all across America on network TV, national talk radio, blogs and other forums primed for debate. Kent First Selectman Ruth Epstein and the Board of Selectmen have asked Gadiel to strike the "murdered by Muslim extremists" line from his son's planned memorial.

Gadiel, a 30-year Kent resident, refuses to delete the "murdered by Muslim extremists" line....

"I was approached by Peter more than a year ago about this idea," Epstein said Friday. "Jamie grew up here. He was a lovely young man. When I first brought it up to the board, everyone agreed it was appropriate. "I think people are still in favor of some kind of tasteful memorial at Town Hall," Epstein said. "I'm still willing to do that, but absolutely not with those words (murdered by Muslim extremists)."

Gadiel does not mince his feelings for Epstein and her successor, Selectman Bruce Adams, who was elected first selectman Tuesday and will take office Dec. 1. "I have nothing but contempt for the two of them," Gadiel said Friday. "If this is their idea of remembering my son, I don't want his name even remotely associated with this town. "I can't tell you how many family members (of 9/11 victims) have called and supported me," Gadiel said. "People need to know the truth about the people who murdered my son and 3,000 other people."

Source

False racism accusations from British government minister



We read:

"David Miliband was facing a mounting backlash last night over his denunciation of the 'anti-Semitic, neo-Nazi' past of a key Conservative ally in Europe. A group of 27 high-profile Jewish figures yesterday warned that such a serious charge was too serious to be treated as a 'political football'.

The Foreign Secretary has made a series of attacks on Michal Kaminski, leader of Poland's Law and Justice Party. In his speech at the Labour Party conference in September he said Mr Kaminski's 'anti-Semitic, Neo-Nazi' past made him 'feel sick'.

Mr Miliband quoted Poland's Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich to support his case, but Mr Schudrich has since insisted that Mr Kaminski has 'become a strong ally of the state of Israel and on other occasions has condemned anti-Semitism'.

In a move aimed at piling the pressure on Mr Miliband, several leading Jewish figures have also called on the Foreign Secretary to retract his remarks in a public letter. The signatories included Lord Young, the former trade secretary, Flo Kaufmann, the chairman of the board of governors of the European Jewish Congress and Howard Leigh, the chairman of Westminster Synagogue.

They added: 'It has become increasingly obvious that these accusations are unfair, baseless and politically motivated. 'The Chief Rabbi of Poland has now spoken up on behalf of Mr Kaminski and has made it clear that far from being an anti-Semite, Mr Kaminski is an outspoken opponent of anti-Semitism and a friend of Israel. 'Anti-Semitism is far too grave a charge to be used as a political football. We call upon those responsible for making unsubstantiated allegations to withdraw them.'

Source

Mr Miliband is the son of a prominent Jewish Marxist

Federal judge nixes license plates with cross



We read:

"A federal judge ruled Tuesday that South Carolina can’t issue license plates showing the image of a cross in front of a stained glass window along with the phrase ‘I Believe.’ U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie said in her ruling that the license plates was unconstitutional because it violates a constitutional ban on establishment of religion.”

Source

How does displaying a particular license plate establish a church???

You could lose your Internet service

We read:

"“I see that economics blogger Brad DeLong is celebrating his first DMCA takedown notice. For those not in on the jargon, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows copyright holders to demand that a web site take down any content which is alleged to violate their copyright.

Needless to say, this has been abused frequently by large corporations seeking to stifle free expression (such as critical comment). But at least the DMCA provides a process to challenge a takedown notice.

Enjoy that smidgen of due process while it lasts. The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports that the secret negotiations for the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) are including draconian provisions … ”

Source

Paris Hilton threatens to sue over 'vacant' billboard



I am quite in sympathy with Ms Hilton over this. Anybody who makes money at the rate she does is pretty smart in my opinion. On some accounts, she has been making around $30 million a year. She charges huge fees for her appearances and has lots of business interests.

"You can call her pretty but if you call her "vacant" expect to wind up in court. Heirhead Paris Hilton is threatening to sue a New Zealand company which advertised an unused billboard by using her picture with the word "vacant" written across it.

Hilton's manager Jamie Freed said from Los Angeles that Wellington-based Media5 had not gained permission to use the image and could expect to hear from her lawyers. Media5's Adam McGregor said the company was just having a "bit of fun" with the billboard, for which a gaffe-prone former Kiwi foreign affairs minister was also a candidate.

Source

Lesbian "comedian" Kate Clinton pours out the hate speech

Commenting on last Tuesday's elections: "Sometimes I wake up . . . and all I want to do is smoke cigarettes and spit at Christian fundamentalists . . . nut jobs that I want to spit at . ."

Imagine if a Christian fundamentalist woman said this about a lesbian

See it on video at her site here under the heading "You Can't Get There From Here"

There seems to be a lot of hatred of normal people among homosexuals. They can be pretty rough on one-another too. "Partner bashing" is apparently quite common.

Orwell's Newspeak is thriving in Britain

Any intervention into someone's family life by police and social workers is referred to in Britain as "support". Most people would think that having your kids taken off you is severe punishment but in Britain it is "support". An example in the second post on POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH today.

Blogging in peril

We read:

"It was a safe bet something was up when Obama refused to discuss — for ‘national security’ reasons, of course — the terms of the forthcoming Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (a secret copyright treaty). Now the Internet chapter has leaked, according to Cory Doctorow, and ‘It’s bad. Very bad.’

Among other things: It requires ISPs to ‘proactively police’ user-generated content for copyright violations. This effectively puts the legal onus on hosting services for enforcing digital copyright, resulting (according to Doctorow) in liability issues that will destroy the business models of services like Blogger and YouTube.

This ‘proactive policing’ means, in particular, requiring DMCA-style ‘takedown notices’ as standard practice in all signatory countries, and requiring automatic takedown and cutoff of Internet service on accusation — not conviction. As we’ve already seen in the U.S., takedowns are a virtually 100% effective form of censorship, since ISPs typically respond immediately and with a complete lack of due process.”

Source

No freedom to criticize teachers in Britain?

We read:

"A teaching union has spoken out against social networking sites after hundreds of pupils joined a Facebook page criticising their headteacher. More than 300 children signed up to the group calling for principal Nardeep Sharma to be sacked.

Many also posted offensive comments about him and other teachers at Colne Community School and College in Brightlingsea, Essex.

The page, which featured a photograph of Mr Sharma and was filled with spelling mistakes and poor punctuation, said: 'If you have an issue with Nardeep Sharma then voice it here! 'We have a right to free speach! and lets just watch them try and hold us back! 'If every pupil joins this group then what are they going to do expell the whole school?'

The messages were removed and the page shut down after it was brought to Facebook's attention.

Source

Footballer the latest celeb victim of militant homosexual outrage

Must not imply that anyone is a homosexual, apparently. What happened to "gay pride"?

"As Larry Johnson nears the Kansas City Chiefs' all-time rushing record, more than 10,000 fans have signed an online petition pleading for team officials to deactivate the running back after he posted homosexual slurs on his Twitter account.

The petition — which has garnered 10,716 signatures as of early Thursday — calls on general manager Scott Pioli to act before Johnson, 29, surpasses running back Priest Holmes for the team rushing record...

Johnson, a former Pro Bowler, was suspended late last month for conduct detrimental to the team after he questioned coach Todd Haley's qualifications and posted two homosexual slurs on his Twitter account, including one in which he called another user a "Christopher street boy," an apparent reference to New York City's Christopher Street, which is synonymous with the city's gay-pride movement....

Bob Moore, director of public relations for the Chiefs, said the team would not comment on the petition. Johnson will return to the team next week following his suspension and $315,000 penalty. "He's due to come back next Monday," Moore said.

Through a spokesman, Johnson apologized for the incident on Oct. 22. "I regret my actions," he said. "The words were used by me in frustration, and they were not appropriate. I did not intend to offend anyone, but that is no excuse for what I said."

Despite the apology, Kansas City fans [or their impersonators] are still calling for Johnson's helmet.

Source

The claim to have 10,000 signatures could well reduce to a few hundred activists using aliases

More blackface "outrage"



Halloween wickedness again:

"Two white Northwestern University students are in hot water after photos of them wearing blackface for Halloween surfaced this week on Facebook and sparked campus-wide outrage.

Student leaders at the Evanston school are holding a forum Thursday night to discuss issues of racism on a campus of overwhelmingly white students that two years ago had a similar incident involving two PhD students wearing blackface.

"While I fully support the principles of free expression, at the same time I am deeply disappointed to see any example of insensitivity that demeans a segment of our community," new Northwestern President Morton O. Schapiro wrote in an campus-wide e-mail. "It is my hope that we can use this incident as a catalyst to reflect upon the values of inclusiveness and respect for others that are central to Northwestern's mission."

One of the students covered himself in blackface and wore a T-shirt with the word "Jamaica" on it. The other dressed as a female tennis player in blackface, a stuffed bra and toting a tennis racket...

Source

"Bud" now racist?

We read:

"Is "bud" the new "boy"? As a black man -- even in a "post-racial America," where a black man now occupies the White House -- I still wonder. Usually the way it happens is I'm somewhere out here in the Windy City, or near my home in the south suburbs, minding my own business, going about the daily fare, when suddenly I hear the annoying call -- "Bud" -- or some similar moniker, dangling from the end of some salutation: "Thanks, bud." "How can I help you, bud?" "What's up, bud?"

Sometimes I am running errands near home -- buying tires, searching at a home improvement store for a toilet flapper valve; or near my office on Michigan Avenue, purchasing a new mailbox; or on a Loop elevator, or in a downtown lobby. And whether it is bud, buddy, boss, pal, pimp, or playa, all of it offends. For I am none of these.

The offenders most often are white, sometimes younger than me and almost always in service or blue-collar positions. Most often it is the "b" word that is used. It feels too informal a title for perfect strangers, especially when I suspect they call other full-grown men sir.

Source

Such forms of address can have genuine intent. The equivalent term among Cockneys (and Australians) is "mate". Cockneys are working-class Londoners. When I bought a newspaper off a Cockney street vendor in London, how I was addressed depended on the paper I bought. If I bought a working-class paper such as the "Sun" or "Mirror", the vendor would say as he took my money "Ta mate" ("Ta" means thank-you). But if I bought the "Times" or "Telegraph", he would say "Ta guv", in recognition of my being one of the "bosses". So "mate" actually conveyed the friendly message "You are one of us". So I think that the black guy above is not considering all the possibilites.

Popular British comedian too sexist



We read:

"He famously ended his shows chasing after scantily-clad women. But that running gag has cost Benny Hill his place in history. Documents yesterday revealed how the comic was dumped from appearing on a set of stamps to commemorate 50 years of ITV because of concerns about his saucy style.

Royal Mail deemed that his jokes were 'in direct opposition to the company's policies on harassment in the work place'.

The revelations about the rejection of Benny Hill angered Bettine Le Beuu, who appeared on his shows. She said: 'It is absurd. To have a jovial and loveable face such as Benny Hill's, who made millions feel good with his humour and was appreciated by many all over the world, would have enhanced the Royal Mail.'

The Benny Hill Show ran from 1955 to 1989 and was aired on the BBC and Thames Television in the UK and broadcast in more than 140 countries. Slapstick, burlesque and double entendre were always his hallmark. Some critics accused the show of sexism but Hill maintained that the female characters kept their dignity while the men chasing them were portrayed as buffoons. The comic died in 1992.

Source

The Benny Hill show was lightweight fun (a fairly typical excerpt here) but it DID feature attractive women and we are not supposed to notice when women are attractive, of course.

Al Jolson tribute banned in Britain

We read:

"For six decades, Clive Baldwin has kept alive the spirit of legendary American entertainer Al Jolson. Wearing the trademark 'black face' make-up of the 1920s singer, Baldwin has performed hits such as Mammy all over the world. But now he has felt the wrath of the politically correct brigade, who banned the 75-year-old from ' blacking up' for a show.

The Belgrade Theatre, in Coventry, last week asked him to perform without make-up to avoid causing offence. But angry fans who had paid £18.75 for their tickets left the show feeling conned by the historically inaccurate performance. They criticised the theatre - which receives a £100,000 Arts Council subsidy - for being oversensitive.

John Wray, director of the show's production company AIR, said the theatrical convention of white actors painting their faces with boot polish or grease paint is a key part of Jolson's legacy, adding: 'It's a historical fact and not in any way derogatory.'

The practice of blacking up survived in Britain until 1978 in the Black and White Minstrel Show. But it fell out of favour because it was considered degrading to black people.

Jolson, who died in 1950 aged 64, was the highest-paid comic in America during the Depression. Far from being racist, Jolson, a Jewish immigrant, championed racial equality.

Source

"Autistic" OK in France but not in Britain

We read:

"Pierre Lellouche, a minister with a reputation for a sharp tongue, deeply regretted causing offence by calling British Tories autistic, but he also blamed his interviewer’s poor grasp of French, according to his spokesman.

“Pierre Lellouche fully understands the emotion that has been aroused and bitterly regrets that he may have wounded people,” said Franck Allisio. “The words used obviously do not reflect the substance of his thought and the clumsiness was completely unintended.”

Three words seem to have failed to make a jump into English. The first, and most controversial, was when Mr Lellouche reproached the Conservatives for “a very bizarre sense of autism” in an interview with The Guardian. The word has become popular in recent years in colloquial French to refer to anyone who is stubborn and does not listen. An equivalent in English might be “deaf to” or similar expression.

“In French, the term autistic has been totally trivialised through overuse. President Sarkozy is called autistic every day,” the spokesman said. “I understand that in English that this word could shock. That was a glitch. It was a misunderstanding.”

Source

White people must stay white

Even at Halloween

"Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Whitney Isleib has inadvertently stepped into a Halloween controversy by reportedly dressing up as soon-to-be incarcerated rapper Lil' Wayne in black-face. Photos of the blonde-haired cheerleader turned hip-hop impresario were posted to Facebook and eventually made their way to sports blog Deadspin.com.

"If she wasn't a Dallas cheerleader would it really matter? It's Halloween, you know. You get to go how you want to go" Cowboys fan Laura Pyhrr told CBS 11 Dallas at Sunday's game.

Another fan was less sure. "I'm assuming you would hold yourself up to a higher standard - especially if you're playing for the Cowboys. But wow, not much I can say about that - it speaks for itself" said fan Richard Vasquez.

No one from the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders or the team would officially comment, but a team spokesman told us the team is aware of the situation and addressing it internally.

Source

"Media violence"?

We read:

"Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs with both Liberty Counsel and Liberty Alliance Action issued the following statement on News that the left-wing United Church of Christ (UCC) and other quasi-Christian liberal groups are calling for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to officially investigate talk radio and other conservative media outlets in an effort to “put an end” to “hate speech” and so-called "media violence"

“One man’s principled conviction is another man’s ‘hate speech,’” said Barber. “For this reason – to protect the free exchange of ideas – our Founding Fathers gave us the First Amendment. The election of President Obama and the recent passage of so-called ‘hate crimes’ legislation has galvanized the radical homosexual lobby, the pro-amnesty crowd, the quasi-Christian left and other fringe factions. Now, more than ever, they are emboldened to silence all dissent.

“We knew it was merely a matter of time until liberals – to include the Obama administration – would begin using the euphemistic terms ‘hate crimes’ and ‘hate speech’ interchangeably. None of us thought it would happen this fast.

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Britain: Must not describe blacks as black

More wackiness from the home of political correctness

"A student and his girlfriend are furious after being called a 'black couple' on their receipt by staff at a pub. Johnson Abraham, 24, and Roxanne Duhur, 21, claim they were the only couple dining when they received their bill at the Slug And Lettuce in Islington Green, North London.

They ordered at the bar, without a table number, before going upstairs to find a seat. When they went to pay for the meal the comment 'upstairs blk couple' was printed on the bill.

Mr Abraham said: 'I was outraged. They wouldn't have written "white couple". 'They could have found another way to describe us. I don't feel it's appropriate. Mr Abraham complained to Slug and Lettuce area manager Nick O'Donnell, who admitted the words were 'insensitive'.

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More BBC double standards

Call a black a golliwog (even in private) and you are OUT. But you can go on TV and call the Queen anything you like

"The BBC has been accused of double standards after it once again broadcast offensive comments about the Queen. On the latest episode of Have I Got News For You, comedy actor and host Miranda Hart described the monarch and her husband as 'that Greek twit and his Kraut wife'.

The incident follows the panic at the Corporation after Andrew Neil light-heartedly compared MP Diane Abbott to a chocolate HobNob biscuit. On that occasion BBC chiefs, terrified of a race backlash, removed the episode from its websites and iPlayer on-demand service after 15 complaints. But the comments about the Queen have not been removed, despite more than double the number of complaints.

One viewer on the BBC's Points of View message-board said: 'I am very disapproving when the participants make derogatory personal remarks about public figures. 'Some of these verge on hateful racial prejudice for instance Miranda Hart referred to the Queen as a "kraut".'

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"Kraut" is derogatory British slang for a German. The Queen does have some German ancestry. A lot of Brits love the Queen so the contemptuous description above would have been deeply offensive to them. But it's only blacks, homosexuals and Muslims who must not be offended. Offending other people is fine.

It will be interesting to see if the German embassy objects to the slur "Kraut" being used on British TV. "Kraut" in German means a cabbage.

A bit of trivia: Although he has connections to the defunct Greek throne, it is actually Prince Philip who is most German. He has no Greek ancestry at all. His mother was German; he still speaks good German; and he keeps in touch with his German relatives. During WWII, he served with distinction in the Royal Navy.

"Christmas" unmentionable again

We read:

"Gov. Steve Beshear has angered some Christians with his yuletide terminology. A giant evergreen that will brighten the Capitol lawn this winter won't be called a Christmas tree. Instead, the Beshear administration has dubbed it a "holiday tree."

The Rev. Jeff Fugate, pastor of Clays Mill Baptist Church in Lexington, said Christians find the change troubling. "If you call it a holiday tree," Fugate asked, "which holiday are you talking about? We don't put up a holiday tree for Easter or New Year's or Thanksgiving. We put a tree up for Christmas."

Beshear administration spokeswoman Cindy Lanham said the tree will be in celebration of a variety of winter holidays, including Christmas and Hanukkah.

In Kentucky, political foes are using the issue to bash the Democratic governor and his administration. "Steve Beshear in his continued swing to the left shows that political correctness is more important than Kentucky values," said Republican Senate President David Williams of Burkesville. "It is difficult to see how anyone could take offense at the cherished tradition of Christmas at the Kentucky Capitol."

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Telling unfunny jokes should not be a crime

The antisemite described below is black and appears jealous of the attention that Jewish suffering gets.

"He has called some of his Jewish critics ‘slave traders who turned to banking or the entertainment business and now to terror activities’ He once labelled the French president’s chief-of-staff a ‘good little soldier of the Zionist lobby’

In a video circulating on the internet, he appears to attack a ‘yid Zionist lobby’ led by ‘racist liars’. He once appeared on a television show dressed as an Orthodox Nazi-saluting Jew shouting ‘IsraHeil’. In a skit he mimics the Jewish-French philosopher, Bernard-Henri Lévy, haggling with a street potato-seller and says: ‘How can you ask me to pay so much when six million of us died in the Holocaust?’ He apparently declared, in a radio interview, that he has a habit of ripping out the pages in his children’s school books that deal with the Holocaust, which he believes Jewish people exploit for ‘memorial pornography’.

The man in question – and currently in the eye of yet another comedy controversy – is the French comedian Dieudonné. None of this seems very funny to me. But then again, my French is a bit rusty.

The comedian, whose full name is Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala, was last week fined €10,000 for ‘public anti-Semitic insults’ after inviting the notorious revisionist historian and Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson on stage during a stand-up comedy show in Paris last December. In the skit, Faurisson received a spoof award for ‘social unacceptability and insolence’ from an actor dressed in a chequered flannel pyjama with a yellow star sewn on. When the stagehand claims he was made to wear the pyjama because he was meeting Faurisson, Dieudonné replies: ‘No you fool, you’re wearing it because you were in Belsen, it was obligatory!’ The implication is that the foolish stagehand unwittingly reveals to the audience that he is not an authentic Holocaust victim and Dieudonné, pretending to be the award ceremony host, tries to hide the gaffe.

Of Cameroonian and Breton middle-class origins, Dieudonné is known for no-holds-barred satire of racial prejudices. He started his career as part of a comedy double act with Jewish comedian Elie Semoun, who has in recent years distanced himself from Dieudonné. He has had the conscience of the French liberal press in tortured contortions, as he’s caused them to debate, to and fro, where to draw the line between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism, what makes a joke drole, and if and where to limit free speech.

As a magazine which does not believe in slapping gags on gags or in fining opinions - and which believes the public can cope with being offended – spiked completely opposes the criminalisation of Dieudonné’s offensive skits.

Firstly, this would be counterproductive, as it is likely to help Dieudonné claim he is some kind of martyred, free-speech warrior. It will also fuel the conspiratorial mindset of Dieudonné’s fans and others with nightmare visions of a nefarious Zionist lobby occupying, not just Gaza and the West Bank, but also the high seats of power where they get to sit around tables dictating the political agenda (why are Zionists so keen on round tables, anyway?).

Secondly, if we let the authorities put a price on Dieudonné’s words, then there is no telling which opinions will be fined into extinction in the future. Already we have seen how a growing culture of offence-taking has led to the watering-down of comedy and has severely limited freedom of expression in other spheres, too....

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Note that the writer above bears the surname Rothschild, so is presumably Jewish

A bit of trivia: Most people pronounce the name "Rothschild" as if it were "Roths child". That is strictly wrong. It should be pronounced as "Roth Schild", which is German/Yiddish for "Red shield"

Insulting a white sports star OK on the BBC?



Now if she had been a homosexual or a Muslim or a black .....

"Olympic swimming champion Rebecca Adlington [above] has formally complained to the BBC that it let comedian Frankie Boyle off with 'a slap on the wrist' over jokes that caused her deep hurt. The double gold medal winner at last year's Beijing Olympics has demanded an explanation from the BBC Trust over why it chose not to punish the comic for 'outrageous' slurs that left her 'humiliated'.

During an episode of BBC2's satirical show Mock the Week last year, soon after Miss Adlington's Olympic triumph, Boyle said she resembled 'someone looking at themselves in the back of a spoon' and followed up with sexual innuendo.

The comments sparked 75 complaints, but although the BBC Trust criticised 37-year-old Boyle and agreed that his remarks were unfair and offensive it took no further action such as barring him from its programmes for a period....

Miss Adlington's manager Rob Woodhouse said last night: 'The BBC needs to take more responsibility for the people it employs to ensure that they uphold the highest of standards. To say what Frankie Boyle did about Rebecca, who was only 19 at the time, was disgusting....

The BBC Trust said last night it had received Miss Adlington's letter and would consider it, but added: 'At this stage we have no plans to review the finding'.

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School sued for punishing teens over racy MySpace pix

We read:

"INDIANAPOLIS: Two American high school girls have sued their school district after they were punished for posting sexually suggestive photos on MySpace during their summer holiday.

The American Civil Liberties Union, in a federal lawsuit filed last week on behalf of the girls, argues that Churubusco High School violated the girls' free speech rights when it banned them from extracurricular activities for a joke that didn't involve the school. They say the district humiliated the girls by requiring them to apologise to an all-male coaches' board and undergo counseling.

Some child advocates argue that schools should play a role in monitoring students' behaviour, especially when dealing with minors. And the US Supreme Court has ruled that students can be disciplined for activities that happen outside of school, so long as the school can prove the activities were disruptive or posed a danger and that it was foreseeable the activities would find their way to campus.

In the Indiana case, the ACLU argues that the district and Churubusco Principal Austin Couch went too far in banning the two students from sports, requiring them to apologise to the all-male coaches' board and undergo counselling after the photographs were circulated at school.

The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Fort Wayne, names Couch, the high school and the district as defendants and seeks unspecified damages. No hearing has been scheduled.

ACLU legal director Ken Falk insists the Churubusco case doesn't warrant the punishment the district handed out. "We all did things when we were sophomores in high school that can be construed as immature or problematic or whatever, but that is not the issue here," he said. "The issue is what possible impact this could have on the school environment, and the answer is none."

The girls, identified only by their initials in the suit, took the photos during a sleepover with friends before school started this summer and posted them on their MySpace pages, setting the privacy controls so only those designated as friends could view them. In the photos, the girls wore lingerie and pretended to lick a penis-shaped lollipop. None of the photos made any reference to the school.

The ACLU argues that the Indiana case is different. They say the photos were a joke intended to be shared only with friends. It wants the school district to expunge all references to the incident from school records and seeks to bar the school from taking similar action in the future.

Palfrey, of Harvard, said schools have a right to regulate students' online behaviour but said the court will have to decide whether the students' First Amendment rights were violated.

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S.D. pro-life group no longer denied access to school campus

We read:

"Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund have obtained a settlement from officials with the Rapid City Area School District in a lawsuit involving a pro-life group’s request to use a school auditorium for an after-school meeting. In 2008, ADF filed suit against the school district after it denied Citizens for Life access to school facilities even though it allowed other groups to meet.

“Pro-life groups shouldn’t be discriminated against for their beliefs. They have the same First Amendment rights as anyone else in America,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Byron Babione. “We’re pleased with the school district’s decision to amend its previous policy and their commitment to honor the constitutional right of Citizens for Life to have equal access to public facilities.”

In August 2006, Citizens for Life President Allen Carlson requested permission for the group to meet at Dakota Middle School’s auditorium to host a pro-life speaker. The school denied the request without providing a reason. In June 2007, a subsequent request by Carlson to host another pro-life discussion was also denied after school officials said the group’s message was “too controversial.”

In settling the case, Citizens for Life v. Rapid City Area School District, the school district agreed to amend the policy governing the public’s use of the facilities. The previous policy permitted other community groups to use the facilities for similar meetings but restricted use for certain political and religious purposes thus allowing school officials too much latitude in deciding which groups may use buildings for meetings.

“We appreciate the efforts of the school district in working with us to create an even-handed policy,” said ADF allied attorney Stephen Wesolick, also representing Citizens for Life. “We hope other school districts will follow Rapid City School District’s lead in ensuring that the constitutional rights of all community groups are protected.”

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